Papers of the (National) Gypsy Council Archives

Description

Papers relating to the establishment and work of the (National) Gypsy Council in the UK.

Biography or history

1950's - 1970's saw the emergence of number of national and international groups campaigning for the rights of Gypsies, Travellers and Roma.


1966 - (National) Gypsy Council formed in the UK - affiliated to the "Comité International Tsigane, CIT" [International Gypsy Committee] as a local branch of this organisation. CIT was headed by brothers Vanko and Lealeu Rouda.


Grattan Puxon was Secretary and his wife, Venice [Venni] Puxon was also a member and teacher involved in a Gypsy Council initiative of schools for Gypsies and Travellers that included the teaching of Romany language, - known as, "Drom schools." Other initiatives involved championing individual cases; campaigning at national and European level; production of a newspaper, "Romano Drom,"(at one time edited by Jeremy Sandford); making alliances with other Gypsy, Traveller, Roma organisations at home and abroad/as well as wider human rights organisations.


1968 - UNESCO's International Year of Human Rights and the same year as the Caravan Sites Act in the UK.


1971 -1st World Romani Congress (organised and hosted on behalf of CIT by Puxon and members of the Gypsy Council ) - held in London on the 8th April, (now International Roma Day). Puxon was secretary of the Congress.


The CIT was at this time renamed “Komiteto Lumniako Romano” (in French “Comité International Rom”, CIR), which in 1977 went on to become, "The International Romani Union."


Donald Kenrick was a prolific linguist and author who wrote about European Roma. Fluent in many languages including Romany he worked with Grattan Puxon of the Gypsy Council on its work with teaching Romany in it's schools, the Council's work at a European/International level,(translations) and researching and co-authoring a book on the fate of Roma communities during the Nazi period.

Provenance

These were initially catalogued as part of Romany 2. However during cataloguing project in 2017, it was found that these were part of a wider deposit (that also included print items) by Donald Kenrick, of the Romano Institute in March 1974. [They were accompanied with a series of accession notes and references B15234 - B15250 and an additional typescript note from D S Kenrick dated 5 Sept 1989 which read, "To be added to Gypsy Council/Grattan Puxon files."]

System of arrangement

The description of the file titles on the accession notes do not directly match those that were listed as Romany 2 catalogue which suggests that the files had possibly been re-arranged since deposit.In 2017 the file arrangements of Romany 2 were maintained;(e.g. each file had the same contents) but they were simply categorised into new sub-series by the archivist.

Access and usage

Reproduction

Access

This collection is subject to various access conditions. Please see individual catalogue descriptions for further details on access.

The catalogue titles or descriptions in this collection may contain terminology and phrases that would now be considered unacceptable. Where present these original terms continue to be included to preserve historical accuracy and provide social and historical context.

Notes on terminology and spellings

 

Please note that there may be differences in the terms used to describe the particular communities represented in this collection, many of which have changed over time and may continue to change.

 

At the time this catalogue was created there are many definitions that identify different cultural and ethnic groups with their varied histories, traditions and associations with a travelling life.

 

These can include but are not limited to  those that have been recognised in UK law as ethnic groups; English and Welsh (Romany) Gypsies, Irish and Scottish Travellers; and non-ethnic groups that consider themselves distinct even if these have not been recognised in UK law, e.g. New Travellers, Showmen and Bargees. Outside of the UK 'Gypsy' may also be considered offensive  and ‘Roma’ is often used instead as the universally preferred term although this term also represents a wide range of distinct groups, (e.g. Sinti, Manouche).

 

It is our intention to respectfully and (where possible) accurately refer to these different communities in the catalogue. For this reason we ask you to note the following with regards to the descriptions in this catalogue that have been based on these current definitions:

 

1)  As many of these definitions have only come into being since the collection was created/1st catalogued, please be aware that original descriptions may not accurately reflect the group to which it refers, (e.g. the word 'Gypsy,' may have been used to describe those now recognised as Irish Travellers/Roma).  Therefore it is worth searching under various terms, e.g. 'Romany' and 'Traveller,' to broaden the scope of search results as well as using the alternative historical spellings, 'Gipsy,' 'Gipsie,' or ‘Romani.’

2) Where no original description exists and it is not possible to properly identify a distinct group they will be described as "Gypsy Traveller" (within UK setting), "Roma" for those living/recently originating outside the UK or "Gypsy, Traveller, Roma " for origin/locations unknown. References to any non - ethnic groups will similarly be capitalised to respectfully acknowledge all groups.

Some parts of this collection are in copyright. Photocopies or digital images of the material in copyright can be supplied for private study purposes only. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder’s permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study. Guidance is available on tracing copyright status and ownership.

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